Left-leaning Jim Shulman’s recent triumph over self-described “fiscally conservative” Sheri Weiner echoes a growing political trend that has swept across the states since Trump took office: though the White House and Capitol Hill have steadily been under conservative control, Americans around the country are putting liberals in local office, and outing conservatives.

In August, St. Louis voters unseated 27-year conservative incumbent Bob McCulloch, in favor of Wesley Bell — a black man — for county prosecutor. Back in February, Democrats unseated two Republican state representatives in New Hampshire and Connecticut.

In a Pennsylvania special election in March, Rick Saccone, a man who proclaimed himself to be “Trump before Trump was Trump,” conceded to Conor Lamb. As of June, Republicans had lost 42 seats to Democrats. The Boston Globe calls this silent revolution a “blue wave,” and it may be knocking on Nashville’s door.

Even when campaigning for a nonpartisan position like Vice Mayor, Shulman highlighted distinctly liberal plans and policies as a part of his platform. He expressed concern in regards to meeting set goals for women and minority-owned businesses, spoke openly about the need for affordable housing, and supported a countywide referendum to create a civilian oversight board to investigate grievances against police officers.

He bet on the fact that, in the era of Trump’s right-wing policies, Nashville voters would favor liberal approach—and he was right. He won 65 percent of the vote over Weiner in the September election.

Even Nike caught on to the trend and bet on its less conservative supporters when the company made Colin Kaepernick, the forerunner of the NFL National Anthem protests, the face of their new ad campaign. Since Nike sales have increased by 31 percent.

If this national trend comes to Tennessee, gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean may become the first Democrat to win a statewide race in the past 12 years.

By Lee Johnson
Nashville Voice

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A new school year means homework and tough assignments that may require some tutorial care. But don’t worry, Homework Hotline is ready to help.

The organization uses certified teachers to provide Tennessee students in grades K-12 free one-on-one tutoring by phone and online in subjects that include reading, language arts, math, social studies, science and Spanish. There is also help available for students in more advanced courses like AP calculus and AP physics.

Homework Hotline is the only one of its kind in Tennessee and only one of 10 nationwide. Besides English, it provides tutoring in five other languages: Arabic, Spanish, Kurdish, Somalia and Swahili.

Executive director Rebekah Vance said Homework Hotline is a good resource for all students, particularly those who cannot afford private tutoring or speak English as a second language.

“Many of hotline’s students come from low-income families unable to afford the $35-$65 cost of private tutoring,” Vance said. “Others come from homes where English is not the native language and those in the home struggle to help them with their homework, as it is written in a language they may not speak.”

Last year, the hotline assisted more than 5,300 students through 9,731 sessions. One of its additions this year is an online whiteboard that allows students and teachers to work problems together in real time.

Jonathan Parrish is one of the 24 teachers at Homework Hotline.

Like many of the teachers who work the hotline, Parrish teaches at a local high school during the day. He says tutoring at HH is a refreshing experience.

“Students who call Homework Hotline are actively seeking knowledge and understanding,” said Parrish, who’s been tutoring at HH nine years. “That energy dynamic and giving to someone who is willing to receive is different than when you’re in a classroom of 30 and you have a percentage that wants to receive, but another percentage that is totally against receiving. Coming to Homework Hotline refuels me. It reminds me that there are students who want to learn.”

Jim Wrye, who serves as assistant executive director of the Tennessee Education Association—the state’s largest teachers’ union—said HH is an asset to education in Tennessee.

“It’s important that students get the support and the resources they need to achieve their learning goals,” Wrye said. “A lot of times parents working, extended family working, don’t’ have time to explain certain aspects of the assignments that they’re working on.

“So it’s great to have somebody at the other end of the line be able to walk you through those problems.”

For more information about Homework Hotline, visit http://www.homeworkhotline.info.

By Holly Yan, Cassie Spodak and Jason Hanna
CNN Newsource

The body of an elderly man was found next to his submerged sedan this morning, according to North Carolina’s Union County Sheriff Department spokesman Tony Underwood.

Underwood says a driver found the elderly man’s body this morning while driving on Landsford Road in Union County.

Underwood says this is the second storm-related death in Union County.

There are now a total of 20 storm-related deaths in the Carolinas.

Florence’s merciless deluge has already killed 18, trapped hundreds and made parts of North and South Carolina impassable — and authorities say the worst flooding is yet to come.

The tropical depression will keep dumping rain over parts of North Carolina for the next few days, with numerous rivers expected to crest at major flood stage.

Flooding already is so bad in North Carolina that the state transportation department is telling people not to travel in the state. Numerous highways, including sections of I-95 and I-40, are closed, and road flooding has virtually cut off the coastal city of Wilmington.

By Ariane de Vogue & Eli Watkins
CNN Newsource

Both Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of physical and sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify before the panel, setting up a blockbuster event that could decide Kavanaugh’s fate.

The announcement, made under pressure from lawmakers to fully examine the new claims, will delay what had been a glide path toward confirmation for President Donald Trump’s nominee. The political stakes for the White House and members of Congress are enormous as the #MeToo movement galvanizes women ahead of key congressional elections in November.

Kavanaugh spent more than nine hours at the White House Monday, huddling behind closed doors with his confirmation team.

An official working closely with his team described Kavanaugh as “shaken, but focused,” with the conversation revolving around “defending his integrity.”

Whether Kavanaugh becomes the newest Supreme Court justice will depend largely on his and Ford’s performances in front of the Judiciary panel and a national television audience. Before the hearings were announced, both indicated they were willing to testify about the allegations.

“Judge Kavanaugh looks forward to a hearing where he can clear his name of this false allegation. He stands ready to testify tomorrow if the Senate is ready to hear him,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement Monday.

The dueling testimony could threaten Trump’s attempt to install a conservative in the place of frequent swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy, potentially altering the balance of the court for a generation.

At the White House, Trump said he’s open to a delay in order to keep the process going and eventually confirm Kavanaugh.

“Judge Kavanaugh is one of the finest people that I’ve ever known. He is an outstanding intellect and outstanding judge respected by everybody. Never had even a little blemish on his record,” Trump said. “If it takes a little delay, it’ll take a little delay.”

White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters Monday that Ford “should not be ignored or insulted; she should be heard.”

In a statement earlier on Monday, Kavanaugh called the allegation by Ford, who is a college professor, “completely false.”

“I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone,” Kavanaugh said. “Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday. I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.”

Kavanaugh’s statement came shortly after Ford said through her attorney that she would be willing to speak with Congress to tell her side of the story.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Jeff Flake suggested that the Monday hearing will be critical to determining whether they vote on the nomination, suggesting they may vote against Kavanaugh depending on how the high-stakes session goes.

“If you believe the charges are true, then you vote no,” said Flake, R-Arizona.

Asked how he’d be able to make a decision in a he-said, she-said situation: “I don’t know how you can ever be sure but it’s the best process we have.”

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, one of the key swing votes on the nomination, said she wanted both Kavanaugh and Ford to testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee.

“I’m pleased that the committee mark up for this week has been canceled and there will be a public hearing and both Judge Kavanaugh and Professor Ford will be testifying under oath, in a public hearing, next Monday. It’s exactly the outcome I’m hoped for and advocated for,” she said.

She said they will “assess the credibility” of the allegations at the hearing. “There are lots of questions that can be asked about details — and I think the hearing will be very helpful.”

Ford went public with her allegation in an article published by The Washington Post on Sunday. In the article, she alleged that at a party during their high school years, Kavanaugh pushed her into a bedroom along with his friend Mark Judge, attempted to remove her clothes and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.

The judge denied the allegation in an interview with The Weekly Standard on Friday.

California Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Monday that she met with Ford in July for “at least an hour and a half” about the allegations. At the end of their meeting, Eshoo said, Ford said she thought it would be “prudent that I take it to another level, and so I contacted Sen. Dianne Feinstein,” because of the senator’s rank on the Judiciary Committee.

After the meeting, Eshoo said Ford wrote and addressed a letter to Feinstein. “It was dated July 30 and my office made sure that that letter was hand-delivered the same day,” Eshoo said.

“I think that my constituent all along had a tug of war going on inside of her, understanding what privacy brought to her, but also the risks of moving over into the public square,” Eshoo said. “Because once you go public you are subjected to a great deal.”

Eshoo praised Ford and said her constituent has “exhibited an enormous amount of courage to do this.”

The congresswoman also defended Feinstein, who has been criticized for not releasing information about the allegation sooner, and said, “Sen. Feinstein did everything to protect the privacy of our mutual constituent.”

While Ford initially sought to keep her allegation confidential, she said she opted to go public once the allegation emerged in the public eye and reporters began pursuing her. Her attorney, Debra Katz, told CNN that Ford would be willing to testify before Congress and stood by her story in the face of expected push-back.

Katz described Ford’s recollection of the incident in stark terms, going as far as saying her client considered it an attempted rape.

“She believes that but for his inebriation and his inability to take her clothes off, he would have raped her,” Katz said.